WOW

For the past few days, the neighboring reserve and our Town Council have hosted a First Nations Pow Wow. Basically, there was a three day long jamboree of sorts in which various Natives from North America travel here to compete in dance, dress, and pageant style categories. This is the first year that this annual event has been held within the boundary of our town rather than the reserve, and many were hopeful that both communities would be able to work together to make this a success. We live down the street from where this has been occurring, and many times as I've been weeding, or as we've been eating dinner outside at our picnic table, the sound of drums and singing has faintly drifted through the evening air. There is such a feeling of celebration that accompanies the drums and it has been fun to watch the drummers ...and listen to! Abby was so excited at first she kept exclaiming, "The indians are here! the indians are here!" Don't worry... we've since tried to teach her how to be a little more politically correct. We happen to live by one of the largest - if not the largest - Native reserve in Canada, and if it weren't for many of those children choosing to attend the public school system, John would not likely have a job here. At any rate, it was fun to see the intricate costumes, hear the music, and see a little bit of the Native culture.

We could not believe how majestic some of these people looked when they were all dressed up! John got to assist with the Grand Entry ceremonies yesterday by receiving one of the flags carried by the honor guard while exchanging some cigarettes. Apparently it is tradition to exchange tobacco at a pow wow, and John found it humorous yet interesting that he may have been caught on camera holding a pack of cigarettes in a public arena.

After spending so much time in my Uncle's tipi last weekend, Abby was more then willing to explore all of these. Many were decorated beautifully.


Aside from the Pow Wow, there has been another exciting happening around here which deserves mentioning. John has built a fence for some neighbors down the street. John is a skilled fencer (? is that what they're called?). In fact, he's good at anything he does, but specifically he's great with paving stone, backyard designing and as mentioned, fences. This is the first time he's built one almost entirely on his own. Finally, after years of watching him work for others, he has taken some steps to building a small business of his own. It would never be anything big, just a summer thing, but he's begun the task of aquiring a few of the many tools and equipment needed to do what he does. He's also come up with a name for his business: Calibre Landscaping. (I think that is the way he wants to spell it) Calibre seems to fit perfectly, as John's work always is of that type! It is exciting to think that this could be something bigger next summer. John enjoys it, and finally he's getting some credit where credit is due!



I'm so proud of him!